KUALA LUMPUR – At least 50 people will serve as prosecution witnesses, including bankers, as Bersatu Supreme Council member Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan heads to trial in March.
It is understood that other witnesses will include officers from the Companies Commission and several politicians.
This comes after the sessions court here agreed to consolidate the Tasek Gelugor MP’s two trials that were in connection with the Jana Wibawa programme.
Meanwhile, Wan Saiful’s lawyer, Chetan Jethwani, said the defence has not received any witness statements from the prosecution and only received two out of seven document bundles.
The court also added new dates to the trial – August 19 to 23.
Previously, the court fixed a slew of dates over six months – March (25-27), April (29-30), May (20-21), June (19-21, 24-25), July (10-12), and August (8-9).
Wan Saiful faces two charges of soliciting and accepting bribes amounting to RM6.9 million from an individual named Lian Tan Chuan, involving the Jana Wibawa project.
The sum was said to be an inducement for him to help a company named Nepturis Sdn Bhd secure the Central Spine Road: Sertik to East Coast Expressway Interchange project from the government, worth RM232 million.
On October 25, 2023, the 48-year-old received an additional 13 charges of transferring proceeds from legal activities amounting to RM1.6 million and another five charges of using illegal money amounting to RM3.9 million.
On December 1 last year, judge Rozina Ayob granted permission to have both of Wan Saiful’s cases tried together, following the request of deputy public prosecutor Mohd ‘Afif Ali. – January 30, 2024